Geneva, June 9, 2010 – In a speech today to the United Nations (see full text below) the Geneva non-governmental human rights group UN Watch called on the world body to condemn “hateful and “anti-Semitic remarks” made yesterday by the Syrian delegate to the UN Human Rights Council.

In comments reported today in the the US and Canadian media, Syrian diplomat Rania Al Rifaiy had accused Israel of being a state “built on hatred, discrimination, oppression and a paranoid feeling of superiority.” (See transcript at bottom.)

As evidence, she purported to quote anti-Arab comments from a rabbi and a children’s song. “Let me quote a song,” said Al Rifaiy, “that a group of children on a school bus in Israel sing merrily as they go to school: `With my teeth I will rip your flesh, with my mouth I will suck your blood.”‘

UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer urged an immediate condemnation from Council President Alex Van Meeuwen of Belgium, UN rights chief Navi Pillay, and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, as well as by the member and observer states of the Council.

“Allegations of Israeli blood-sucking echo the medieval blood libel about Jewish murder of children. Such statements, absurd and patently false, are historical incitements to prejudice and violence,” said Neuer.

“We had thought that they had been relegated to the ash-can of history. They have no place in the United Nations. They offend the decorum of the Human Rights Council and damage the credibility of its work.”

“We deeply regret that the Council, whose founding mission is to end intolerance toward any religious, racial, or ethnic group, was the venue for the expression of such crude and hateful allegations. It is now incumbent on all responsible authorities to speak out and condemn this bigotry.”

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Following is the UN Watch intervention as delivered today to the UN Human Rights Council.

Mr. President, we had prepared a speech on violations the world over. Instead, I am obliged to address a human rights violation that occurred here, in this chamber.

I am referring to remarks that violate the anti-racism prohibition of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

I am referring to the Syrian statement falsely accusing Israel of being a state that is not only “built on hatred… and a paranoid feeling of superiority,” but also one that glorifies the “ripping of flesh” and the “sucking of blood.”

Mr. President, this crude and coded language echoes the libel voiced by Syria on 8 February 1991 at the UN Commission on Human Rights, when its delegate accused Jews of killing Christians to use their blood, citing from the book “Matzo of Zion” by former Syrian Defense Minister Mustafa Tlas. That speech was officially condemned at the time by 29 countries.

We remind Syria that the EUMC working definition of Anti-Semitism includes, “Using the symbols and images associated with classic Anti-Semitism, e.g. [the] blood libel, to characterize Israel or Israelis.”

Mr. President, yesterday’s patently false and hateful remarks are historical incitements to prejudice and violence. They have no place in the United Nations, and we call on all stakeholders to condemn them.

Sadly, these words did not arise in a vacuum. For last week, during this council’s urgent debate on the flotilla, we heard similar motifs as Israel was speciously depicted as an attacker of innocent humanitarians-when in truth it was defending itself from violent Jihadists bent on martyrdom.

Once again, Israel was singled out by those seeking to delegitimize it. A resolution was adopted condemning Israel, creating yet another investigation where the guilty verdict was declared in advance.

Tellingly, many accused the Jewish state of being “inhuman,” including Pakistan for the OIC, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia and Nicaragua.

Mr. President, word is father to deed. History teaches that when nations turn to dehumanization and demonization, the world remains silent at its peril.

Just a few days after the well known high seas piracy, they preach about torture? It is not just systematic against Arabs and Palestinians, it is also legitimized by the highest level, the Knesset.

They claim they are allowed to use what is called mild forms of physical pressure; (these) include tying up prisoners in twisted positions for up to five days continuously, sleep deprivation, covering their heads with sacks dipped in – excuse the term – urine; incommunicado detention in tiny windowless cells for weeks with music blaring for 24 hours a day.

There is no presumption of innocence. A Palestinian or Arab has no right to silence. This is not only extended to 11,000 detainees, this is also extended to 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza.

The Ex-President Jimmy Carter was appalled when he saw how they were treated. He said they were “treated like animals.” This not very strange given that one prominent rabbi described them as swines, excuse me for the term.

This is a state that is built on hatred, discrimination, oppression and a paranoid feeling of superiority. Hatred is widespread, taught to even small children, who are taught to use weapons, and who are taught to sign missiles that will be fired at Arabs.

Let me quote a song that a group of children on a school bus in Israel sing merrily as they go to school. And I quote “With my teeth I will rip your flesh. With my mouth I will suck your blood.”

The Israeli systematic violations of human rights and illegitimate occupation has destabilized the whole region, bringing it to the brink of war on so many occasions. We appeal to the international community to put an end to the Israeli impuntiy and to their extreme, extremely brutal policies inside and outside occupied arab territories.